“With the the flag we’re just playing tribute to our fallen brothers,” firefighter Michael Gil said.

Nine firefighters were busy going through regularly scheduled training exercises that includes the use of ‘fire shelters.’ The fire shelters are used as a very last resort, because they are trained to always build two escape routes and safety zones when battling wildland fires.

“We learn a lot through our training and our heads on a swivel because the area’s so dry,” Gil said.